Monday, November 12, 2012

Don't Tickle Me, Elmo!

It’s not a sunny day on “Sesame Street,” as the show revealed Monday that the puppeteer behind Elmo has been accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage boy.

“In June of this year, Sesame Workshop received a communication from a then 23-year-old man who alleged that he had a relationship beginning when he was 16 years old with Kevin Clash,” reps for the show said in a statement.

Clash, 52, who has been Elmo’s Muppeteer since 1984, adamantly maintains the accusation is false, but the show was forced to investigate. Says Clash, according to TMZ, "I had a relationship with [the accuser]. It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not."

“We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action,” Sesame Workshop said in the statement. “We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him. We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation. We also conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated.”